1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an ultraviolet ray curable ink jet recording apparatus and an ink jet recording method using the same.
2. Related Art
In the related art, as a fluid flow apparatus, a gear pump is known. In the gear pump used in an ink jet recording apparatus, by rotating one pair of gears housed in a pump chamber (fluid chamber) in an engaged state, ink sucked from a suction opening is discharged from a discharge opening, thereby making the ink flow. In such a gear pump, if the ink enters a place with a high resistance with respect to a fluid, for example, a gap between an axis (rotating body) and a bearing (support portion), there is a concern that the ink is cured and thus rotation of the axis is hindered. Therefore, it is conceivable to increase a fluidity of the ink entering the gap by increasing the gap between the axis and the bearing. However, since a center of the axis is not stable in the case where the gap is increased, there is a problem in which the axis is difficult to smoothly rotate (shaky).
Accordingly, JP-A-2012-20559 discloses a fluid flow apparatus which can suppress shakiness against a support portion of a rotating body which rotates to make a fluid, which is subject to a polymerization reaction, flow and excellently rotates the rotating body, and is provided with the fluid chamber for making a fluid having a polymerization inhibition property due to oxygen while being cured by polymerization reaction flow, the rotating body which is rotatably supported around the axis of a support portion provided in the fluid chamber, and a driving means for rotationally driving the rotating body, in which the support portion is configured with a material having gas permeability, and is designed to separate the inside and the outside of the fluid chamber. According to this configuration, since the support portion which separates the inside and the outside of the fluid chamber is configured with a material having gas permeability, in the case where the gas which penetrates the support portion from the outside of the fluid chamber includes oxygen, the curing of the fluid in the fluid chamber can be suppressed by the oxygen.
However, in the case where an ink composition for the ultraviolet ray curable ink jet recording is transported using the gear pump, since even if oxygen flows into the gear pump, the oxygen flowed into is consumed by the influence of the material of the gear pump and heat generated, and thus, polymerization of the ink composition is not inhibited, and there is a case where the rotating body and the support portion in the gear pump are fixed by the polymerization product. When such fixation occurs, there is a problem in which durability of the gear pump is deteriorated.
In contrast, it is also conceivable that the ink composition for the ultraviolet ray curable ink jet recording is transported using a tube pump or a diaphragm pump. In such a method, the ink composition is unlikely to be fixed. However, there is a problem in the durability in which the tube pump or the tube is likely to be damaged. In addition, since it is difficult for the diaphragm pump to transport a fluid at a constant flow rate, there is a problem in discharging amount stability.